Lee C. Fine Receives $4 Million for Apron Reconstruction

At the heart of local commerce lies transportation. Getting stock from distributors to store shelves is vital. At the Lake of the Ozarks, a number of small airports bring in more commerce than most people know. In Osage Beach, Lee C. Fine is one of two locations playing this role. Now, after a successful grant application, the airport will be receiving $4 million to reconstruct its apron.

City Administrator Jeana Woods says the choice to reconstruct the apron follows an infrastructure improvement plan in place to update the airport over a number of years. Osage Beach will match 5% of the grant ($200,000) to complete the grant. Alongside the current 6,500 feet of runway found at Lee C. Fine, this will keep the airport at modern standards.

Currently, there is no timeline for the construction completion. However, Woods says that the work will be completed within the same fiscal year as budgeted, aiming towards a date sometime within 2020. This is unlike the construction plan of the runway improvements, which were finished in phases.

Woods says that Lee C. Fine has been a part of the lake for a long time and is very important. Being one of two sites in Osage Beach, she says it serves a different role than that of the Grand Glaize airport. Whether it be a meeting site for business clients flying in from their home state or a delivery site for goods, Lee C. Fine is vital to the continued economic distribution of Osage Beach and the lake as a whole.

"It gets people to the heart of Osage Beach and provides commercial runways for jets and businesses," Woods said.

Eventually, Woods says the city aims to add residential use out of their airports, though this is a goal long down the road. Timing of funds play a large role in completing any project set for the airports, so any goals in mind will be determined by what money they are awarded. Some of the pavement being replaced on the Lee C. Fine apron was originally installed in the 1950s, making this construction plan a necessity for continued use.

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